The story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the wilderness is familiar to most of God’s people, but what He actually quoted to the enemy in His time of tempting is very instructive to us. Jesus quoted from Dueteronomy 8:2-3, which reads:
“You shall remember all the way which YHWH your God has led you in the wilderness these 40 years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand (know) that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.”
This passage is so insightful, and searching. It reminds us that God allows us to come into times of testing, “to know what was in your heart.” This is humbling, to any sincere person. We will admit that when The Lord sees what is in our heart, it is not good. And when push comes to shove, just like Israel in the wilderness, we do NOT “keep His commandments.” It is a stark reminder of how much we need the grace of God in Jesus Christ — and thank God we have it!
But there is another great lesson here as well. Continue reading
Last Sunday we shared the story of Oscar Schindler, the German businessman who literally “redeemed” over 1200 Jewish prisoners from death in German concentration camps by bribing guards and bringing the prisoners in to work in his business. The picture you see on the screen is the grave of Oscar Schindler. As we mentioned last week, Schindler’s redemption was limited, as he could only redeem the 1200, and he literally bankrupted himself by redeeming them, and ended up being supported by the Jewish community in his old age. It was his request to be buried in Jerusalem, and Schindler’s grave is one of the most visited in the holy city. But despite all the good that Schindler did, he will never redeem anyone else, for he lies still in his grave. But today we celebrate that as Christians, we have a Redeemer who LIVES and who is able to come to our aid today!
shawnethomas 